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It said: 'The satellite image, taken in early 2011 and available on Google Maps, appears to show a roughly 5,200 ft asphalt runway and what appears to be a General Atomics MQ-1 Predator or MQ-9 Reaper UAV being towed on the parking ramp.

'The airfield has four hangars of varying sizes, including a hangar with clamshell doors that is characteristic of US UAV operations.

'Details of the airfield, including a parking lot, security perimeter and ongoing construction are clearly visible.'

Spying on the spies: What looks like a drone (circled) sits on the Yucca Lake airstrip, as seen by Google Maps

The detail makes it extremely easy for foreign powers to look up satellite images to inspect secret U.S. spy planes.

The website added that an earlier image, showing what appear to be a Pilatus PC-12 and Beechcraft King Air parked on the ramp, 'fuelled speculation' it was used by defence firm Lockheed Martin.

Leighton added that he believed Google had the right to show the images to the public, but they should decide not to because they comprise military operations.

He added that the U.S. military had previously blocked Google employees from taking images at bases for Google Earth, which requires more close-up photography.

The publication of satellite imagery of top secret bases is a hot topic, with previous discoveries revealing the exact location of one in Denver.

Dr. John Michener, chief scientist at security firm Casaba, said Google should be allowed to show spy plane imagery as national laws do not apply above the atmosphere.

He said: 'Get used to it. You know when the satellites are overhead. You can take countermeasures to hide portable stuff.'

He added that it would become problematic if the government started filtering through 'deep-packet inspections', which would mean inserting code onto the web that would block access to secret images, and that Google could then start encrypting its images.